Coconut Chutney

Coconut chutney is a versatile chutney which goes well with dosa and idli. This chutney can be made with the seasoning or without it. Traditionally it is seasoned with mustard seeds. But both I and my husband like it without the seasoning.

Ingredients
1 cup grated coconut
small piece of tamarind (size of 2 peas)
2-3 green chilies
salt for taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coconut oil
4-5 curry leaves or kadipatta

Method
Grind the coconut, tamarind, chilies into a very fine paste. Heat oil in a seasoning pan and add mustard seeds. When the sesds splutter, remove from heat and add curry leaves. Add this seasoning on the chutney. Serve with dosa or idli.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Onion Dosa

This dosa can be made with left over idli batter or masala dosa batter. Onion, coriander, green chilies, grated carrot or pumpkin make it a nutritious breakfast. This is another of my favorite tiffin recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups rice
1 cup urad dal or black gram
1/2 teaspoon methi or fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon salt
oil
1/2 cup grated carrot or grated pumpkin
8-9 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro leaves
1 medium onion chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger(optional)
4 tablespoon finely chopped coconut pieces(optional)
1/2 teaspoon chopped green chili (optional)

Method
Soak urad dal, methi and rice separately for around6-8 hours. Grind half of urad dal and methi till you obtain a very fine paste. Then add 1/2 of the rice to the urad dal and grind it as finely as possible. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the urad dal and rice. Mix salt into the batter and keep it in a warm place for 10-12 hours. I turn on my oven on the "WARM" setting for 15-20 minutes and keep the batter inside the oven for fermentation in winter.

Take just the amount of batter you require to make the number of dosa you want to make and store the rest of the batter inside the refrigerator. If you add the chopped onion to all the batter and store it inside, the batter will acquire a strong and unpleasant smell of the onion. Hence, for eg. if you want to make 6 dosas, add onion and rest of the ingredients to the batter needed for 6 dosas, and store the rest of the batter in the fridge for later.

Chop the onion, green chilies, ginger and corinader leaves finely. Mix in these ingredients into the batter along with coconut pieces. Oil a tava or a flat skillet and spread the batter evenly on the tava. Cover and cook the dosa and once cooked flip it to the other side. Now cook uncovered on the other side. Serve hot with coconut chutney.